How do you spell relief?
Thanks to Colorado branch of the Volunteers of America, 100 homeless individuals, including families with children, have a roof over their heads at night. The VOA Family Motel at 4855 W. Colfax Ave., provides a clean and safe place for them to stay, if only temporarily.
But the constant use takes a toll, and a good sprucing up is needed every now and then. Last week, relief pitchers LaTroy Hawkins and Zach McClellan of the Colorado Rockies devoted an afternoon to painting rooms at the Family Motel, joining students and teachers from the Jefferson County Schools Johnson Program.
Hawkins and McClellan are members of the Major League Baseball Players Trust which has “action teams” in various cities across the country. The action teams promote volunteerism by encouraging young people to make a positive difference in their respective communities.
In addition to Denver, there are action teams in Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York City, Oakland, Portland (Maine), San Francisco and Seattle. There are plans to expand the program to Indiannapolis, Cincinnati, Houston and Mobile.
The VOA Family Motel allows up to 12 days of shelter to those in need of emergency housing. VOA estimates there are 4,600 men, women and children in the metro area that are homeless.

Pictures taken at the VOA Family Motel sprucing-up can be seen at denverpost.com/SeenGallery.

Denver Post Society Editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com. Her column appears every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday in the Scene section.